Saturday, December 31, 2016

As we approach the New Year of 2017, I am sharing the joys of Advent at the mission of St. John Paul II. In my many years serving as a Glenmary priest, the way the Catholics of St. John Paul II honor December is unique and inspiring.

Rosary to conclude the feast of Guadalupe

They begin with the novena in honor of the Immaculate Conception which is also associated with Our Lady of Joaquin ( the virgin of the state of Oxacca, MX). This continues through the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The novena means they sing, pray the rosary, and then eat afterwards. Each night a different family is the host. These are held at times at someone's home or at the church.

Procession

Mass

Then the celebration in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe follows. This took place on the December 11 in the afternoon. Procession, Mass, Food, three dance performers and the drama of Our Lady of Guadalupe mark this festival. It is a huge amount of labor and expense, but done with great joy and love. Then at 6:00 a.m. on December 12th they gathered for the Mananitas (morning praises), which is singing and the rosary. Some came to St Teresa of Kolkata for the evening Mass; others had on last rosary at a families home.

Actors for the drama of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Presentation of the Gifts

Ladies traditional dance

Dancers from St. Teresa of Kolkata

Dance of the Viejos (Old ones)

After a few days of rest, they began the rosaries for the Posadas. This again is nine days of rosary, singing and food with the added twist of candy and fruit each night for the children. This then concludes with the joyous final night on the 23rd with rosary, the pastorales, food, gifts and the piñata.

Posada singing outside the door

Receiving the crib

The final rosary

This year's Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus

The cast of the pastorales

Gifts from Novice Ken and elves

Pinata breaking

The highlight of course is Christmas Mass.

The photos and description can not capture the level of faith that is evident in the faithful where any given night as few as thirty and as many as 100 were gathered for prayer. Imagine 2 to 3 hours every night for 21 days during December. Where many were shopping and preparing for Christmas in other ways, these Christians were praying to prepare their heart for the Lord.

After all, the time of advent is to prepare us to receive the gift of faith in a renewed way. As we end 2016 and begin 2017 may it be a time of great faith in Jesus for everyone.

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

After a very long absence, the missionary heartbeat blog is back. Sorry for the wait.

This is why it is called the "Smokey Mountains".

One discovery is once a routine falls apart, regardless how good it is, it takes twice as much effort to restart. This is true about this blog, but it is also true about diet, exercise, prayer, and going to Mass. Acknowledging this reality, this entry is dedicated to what has been happening in Union County. I will aim to catch you up on St. John Paul II Catholic church in Rutledge soon. ( I hope soon, is like in two weeks).

Three major changes have occurred recently. First, with the canonization of Mother Teresa on September 4 we now have a new name. We are now St. Teresa of Kolkata Catholic Church. The spelling change is out of respect of the people of India. The change from "Calcutta" to "Kolkata" is returning to the indigenous spelling.

A free gift and our welcome banner

We were blessed with Bishop Stika coming to celebrate this change a week later. The joy he brings, his sense of humor and his holiness all add to the festive mood of this event. He likes to say he is a third class relic since he knew and was hugged by Mother Teresa. Now we have the challenge live in a way that give honor to our patroness. We need to be a church of mercy even after this jubilee year ends.

The image is a gift from Bishop Stika in honor of her canonization

The second exciting news is that in October Larry Rossini was ordained a deacon and assigned to service here at STK (our new initials: St. Teresa of Kolkata). Deacon Larry, a native of Arkansas but a long time resident in Halls, TN, has been a great addition. Currently he is helping us reorganize our internal church structure.

Deacon Larry shortly before his ordination

One of the challenges as a community of faith grows is adjusting the committees and lines of communication. As a start up church, just five years old, it has been very dependent on the Glenmary Missioners with a few parishioners to carry the load of work. This is no longer sustainable. With Br. Craig now serving in Sneedville, TN, which is the neighboring county, his ministry needs to be handled by the parishioners. Further more, we a no longer just a small community. We have grown from 26 people to 120 families. Deacon Larry's background in business systems being applied to church life is a real plus.

Yet, what Deacon Larry is getting ready to do is even more essential. He will be forming an Evangelization committee and in true missionary spirit, go out to the world to announce the good news. Of course, he and his team will just hit the little part of the world known as Union County. Yet it is big enough for us.

St. Francis garden: blooms of faith will be as vibrant

Finally, the most exciting and nerve creating news is that we have an architect under contract. This week our architect will meet with the liturgy committee on Friday and all our construction workers on Saturday. Then the detail design will begin. It has been a very long wait to get here, but we made it. All the fund raising efforts, the carnivals, all the outside donations has allowed to receive a grant from Extension Society. Therefore, we have a financial plan that should allow us to begin construction in the spring of 2017.

Friday, March 4, 2016

This Christmas I was given a challenging zigzaw puzzle. I enjoyed and was frustrated working on this puzzle during my evenings. The ultimate frustration was when I finished to discover a piece was missing. This was a new puzzle so when I began I am confident that all the pieces were present. So the missing piece was a result my own carelessness.

This is much like the reason for our Lenten season. When we begin life, all the pieces for happiness are present, especially once we are baptized and original sin is washed away. As life continues because of our carelessness and the carelessness of others, pieces begin to go missing. Gaps of sadness, sinfulness and suffering sneak in. These gaps can only be healed with the grace of Jesus Christ.

The Sacrifice of Mercy for us all

In particular this Lent, Pope Francis has called us to experience a Jubilee Year of Mercy. This is a great opportunity for us to improve ourselves, our faith and civil communities, and even to improve the world. During Lent every parishioner has been challenged to complete all of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. This idea is actually based on a movie called "Little Boy" where a priest gives this assignment to a little boy needing hope. One act of mercy can change the world.

At Blessed Teresa of Calcutta the congregation has engaged in "visiting the sick". We have a young parishioner with serious cancer. When she had her surgery she had no insurance. Now she does, but it is not the best. The church sponsored a fundraiser where I offered folks an opportunity to shave my head. This event was mentioned in the local newspaper. People really worked hard and had a lot of fun. I was deeply moved by people not members of our church who came to support her. Some folks traveled from a neighboring town just because they wanted to help someone who was suffering. They did not know her or anyone else in the parish. They saw it in the paper and wanted to make a difference. That is mercy in action.

A new look for the mercy of Christ

This is one example of filling in the missing pieces of our life. Each act of mercy is a form of conversion. This is how we turn our stony hearts and the stony hearts of others into hearts of flesh.

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Winter Knitting Give a Away

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Wrapped in the warmth of Christ

Both of our missions are recipient of many acts of mercy. Two groups help us in "clothing the naked". SAM's club of my hometown parish of St. Timothy Catholic Church, Maple Lake, MN and St. Bede and St. Olaf Knitting Ministry out of Williamsburg, VA regularly send us handmade quilts, knitted hats, gloves, blankets and shawls. These acts of love brings joy to those who make, appreciation to our local communities and much need warmth to those who receive them. Now during winter, it is fun to spot children with these knitted items. Baby quilts and knitted baby blankets are birth gifts and baptismal gifts. The layers of the effects of these handmade items may not always be obvious. Yet, missing pieces are filled in.

The message is someone cares At one of our get ready for winter give away, a woman was tears for getting a free handmade quilt. She could not believe that we would give her a quilt when she was not a member of our church. She said no church just gives things away. My response was, " Christ gave us his life, I think we can give you a quilt."

All of this helps fill in the missing pieces of our lives with kindness, thoughtfulness and mercy. Thank you, Jesus, for filling in the gaps and missing pieces of our lives. Thank you for those who are sacrificing time and finances in sharing their missionary hearts here in Union and Grainger County. Thank you Jesus for you mercy and the mercy of our disciples. Thank you for everything.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

The joy of a Merciful Life
(Dancers during the JPII Guadalupe festival)

The Jubilee Year of Mercy has begun. This has me very excited. We began the year last month. Our two parishes and other friends joined me in 30 days of radical love. I now see that Creative Communications has put out a calendar entitled 30 Days of Mercy Love in Action. This means I was not has creative as I thought or that the Holy Spirit is working strongly inspiring many with similar ideas. Take it as you will.

Knock out evil and be rewarded with sweets

The reason I invited others to join me in this was as a response to the negativity and fear that seems to be growing in our country. It greatly hurt me to hear the fear that leads to denying refugees safety, judging Muslims by some terrorist groups and actions, and increasing suspicion of our neighbors. It also bothers me that people seem to put more trust in guns than God. There is another way!!

The Mercy Medical Sisters

The Mobil Clinic brings mercy to folks in Washburn and Rutledge

Therefore I wrote to the Knoxville News Sentinel about my challenge to do thirty days of radical acts of love to demonstrate that Love is more powerful than fear and good will (God's will) more helpful than suspicion and isolation. This message was picked up by the local papers and others who read my facebook page.

The greatest act of mercy

The result was greater than imagined. Members of our parish engaged in helping additional families for Christmas, bring small items to the Children's Hospital, buying small gifts like flowers and candies for cashier's. Many notes of appreciation were sent as well as phone calls. Stories of their generosity were many, but the greater surprise was those who received acts of radical love in return. On single mother who had been engaging in these acts shared this story: She drove her mother to the airport early in the morning. Her young son and her stopped at McDonalds for breakfast. After she made her order she discovered she had grabbed the wrong purse and had no cash, no credit cards and no driver license with her. She apologized and cancelled the order. The manager came up and said no worry, it is on us. These little acts do change the world.

In this year of mercy, Pope Francis is inviting all of us to engage in radical acts of love and forgiveness. Doing one small thing a day opens one's eyes to the many possibilities to make a difference. We may discover greater joys and surprises along the way.

Bring your gifts like the Kings to Christ
(Picture is from the Epiphany Pastorales Play)

God can never be outdone in generosity. The more love you share, the more love you will receive. It is God math: to more you give the more you gain. It will happen every time!!